Communication Articles

HOA Web Tips
Having a homeowner association website is a tremendous plus when it has all the right stuff and kept current. Members access the budget, rules, policies and governing documents with a few button clicks. Prospective owners learn about the community before closing the deal. Need to know information is available 24/7 so saves time, money, provides a platform for efficient communication and helps define a community identity. HOA websites come in different formats and slants, depending on who is paying the bill:

Developer Marketing Website. Developers spend considerable money these days promoting HOA projects online. The sites are beautiful, intended to attract buyers and increase profitability. They usually include floor plans, architectural renderings, 360 degree panoramas and other hot buttons for buyers. They rarely include information about the HOA operations, what really matters in the long haul. State laws usually requires written disclosure of this information in a phonebook size stack of documents which is carefully perused by each buyer before closing (NOT!).

Developer websites often wisely choose a web address that reflects the community like www.NottacareCondos.com. This address can be transferred to the homeowner association upon turnover or, at least, when the developer has no further use for it. The HOA can often transform it for operations use while retaining the high quality graphics.

Fill in the Blanks Website. Template based websites are designed for ease of use. This is particularly important when using volunteers to maintain the website. Simply fill in text, documents and pictures into predetermined fields and upload the result quickly. Some of these "fill in the blanks" websites are more focused on HOA business than others that include distractions like advertising, weather and stock reports. Ad supported websites are generally cheaper but annoying for the users.

Homegrown Website. Website building software is available like Microsoft Front Page that is relatively simple to learn and allows quite a bit of creativity in look and layout. Having the ability to make changes instantaneously is a huge advantage.

The truly effective HOA website requires thought and planning. Here are some tips for achieving success:

Define the Benefits:

Enhance property values
Communicate information quickly
Transmit maintenance and service requests
Platform for neighbor communications
Notification system for HOA meetings and social events
Reduce supplies, labor and postage costs
Conduct polls and surveys
Inform buyers, title insurance and real estate agents
Save money

Engages the Members. When critical information is included on the websites, members can be directed there frequently. In time, it will become a matter of habit for many. A real bonus of the internet is that it’s open for business all the time. No more phone tag.

Fast Track Communications. Having the ability to broadcast email the members is more than just efficient. Many communications never happen at all because of the time and money it takes to assemble a mailing. Email eliminates those hurtles by allowing newsletters, meeting minutes and notices to move fast and free of charge. To encourage use of HOA email communication, offer HOA members a rebate or credit of, say, $25 a year if they agree to accept email communications. The HOA will be money ahead.

Maintain Fresh Content. As the central information distribution vehicle, the website requires regular update to remove the old and add the new. It needs to be at the top of the To Do List. If the website is out of date, traffic will soon fall off and folks will return to their old ways. Fresh content tied with broadcast emails pointing to the website will encourage members to use it.

Include Basic Information

HOA Name
Physical and mailing address, location, directions and map
Community description (like, 86 condos, clubhouse , pool, park and walking paths)
Management Information. (company name, manager, contact information)
Board Information (name, office held, contact information)

Include Special Features

Downloadable Documents and Forms
Activities Calendar
Resident Directory (get privacy release from all listed)
Newsletter Archive
Minutes Archive
Pictures of Social Events
Online HOA fee paying

Do It Right

Get a web address of your very own. While free website services are enticing, committing to a private URL will make it much easier to find and demonstrate long term commitment.
Budget Time & Money. Commit adequate manpower and funds to produce a professional result.
Include all the "right stuff". (See Regenesis.net HOA Websites section for a checklist)

Having a homeowner association website has so many advantages, it’s foolhardy to do without one. The affordable and user friendly options are many so there is little excuse for not making the move. The Web Tip of the Day is "Just Do It". BACK

Online Newsletters
In homeowner associations, consistent and effective communication is extremely important to build consensus and to keep the gossip mill at bay. Besides the timely distribution of meeting minutes, newsletters are key to this charge. While printed newsletters have been the norm (and local printers thank you), the internet offers a wonderful alternative to publish newsletters online and eliminate printing, mailing, labeling and postage costs.

Online newsletters offer a number of really cool features that printed copy either can’t or would be very expensive to duplicate. They can include color for no extra charge so pictures, graphics and fonts can shine with chromatic intensity. The same feature for printed newsletters ratchets up the cost considerably.

Text, graphics and pictures can be hyperlinked to the HOA’s website or other internet locations. Newsletter ads can be linked to the vendor’s website where the vendor can prattle on endlessly about the benefits of the product or service. You can even add sound and video features to really jazz it up!

Online newsletters can be delivered to the reader in a variety of ways:
Email Newsletters appear within the email message itself and include all the newsletter bells and whistles like fonts, color and graphics. Internet websites like www.ConstantContact.com offer customizable newsletter templates that are easy to use, track delivery and other ingenious features that are FREE for distribution lists of 50 or less and very inexpensive for larger lists.

PDF Newsletters convert Word and WordPerfect documents into a Portable Document Format using Adobe Acrobat software. A companion software called Adobe Reader is available free at www.adobe.com to enable viewers to open PDF files. PDF newsletters can be mailed as attachments or posted on the HOA’s website. Emailing PDF files works well if the file size is relatively small (under 250k). Larger files cause problems for dial up users or those that have a limited email Inbox capacity.

Word Processor or Publisher Software Newsletters. Both Word and WordPerfect have newsletter composing capability. There are also newsletter specific software like Microsoft Publisher that are layman friendly and come with templates and other helpful features. These files can be distributed as email attachments.

Website Newsletters are directly published to the HOA’s own website. Both website posted and PDF newsletters offer a number of advantages in that past newsletters can be archived and each newsletter can be searched by key words.

When crafting the newsletter itself, there are a number of basic formatting recommendations:

Use of Fonts. Use only a few different fonts and type sizes. Newsletters are commonly done in Times Roman and Arial which are easy to read. Choose one of these for your basic text and several of the thousands of others for titles. Use bold, italics and color sparingly and for emphasis.

Use Columns. Follow the example of magazines and newspapers by using two or three columns. Articles are much easier to read in that layout.

Use Pictures & Graphics. Images make the newsletter more eye-catching. But keep the file size small (10-50k) so they don’t slow the load time for viewers that are still using dial up connections.

Use Text Boxes. Text boxes are floating fields can be placed anywhere in the newsletter either lining up with columns or straddling them. The background can be shaded with color and the borders have a number of options.

Getting the word out that the newsletter is available is a snap. Simply email a distribution list that the newsletter is available and attach it or include a link to the newsletter’s location. It’s helpful to include a brief description of articles to woo better response.

One obstacle to email newsletters is delivering the goods to computer challenged members. But let’s face it, there is a high price associated with printed communications in both labor and hard costs. These costs often discourage newsletter production or reduce the frequency.

Fortunately, there is no law that says newsletters, meeting minutes and other HOA communications (other than legal notices) need to be snail mailed. To encourage use of email delivery, why not give consenting members a credit of $25 a year? The HOA will save an unnecessary expense, reduce paper needs and the members that drive the savings enjoy the savings.

If your newsletters are not all they could be, why not explore the fascinating world of online publishing? Dramatically lower the cost and production work while improving the quality of the product. This is good news indeed. BACK

Newsletter Parts
Every homeowner association needs to communicate regularly to the members on HOA related issues like finances, rules, meeting minutes and the like. Adding the personal touch with pictures of newcomers and volunteers makes the piece of greater interest to many.

Besides content, newsletters need to have an appealing and organized look. Software programs like Microsoft Publisher offers professional looking templates which require little more than filling in the blanks. With a little effort, the same effect can be cloned with word processing programs like Word and Word Perfect.

The internet provides a substantial number of resources to assist in newsletter execution. One of the best can be found at www.desktoppub.about.com. Explore the intricacies of professional newsletters that will truly make them shine. What follows are of the twelve components that every newsletter should have. Knowing how to use them will improve the finished product.

1. Nameplate. The banner on the first page of a newsletter that identifies the publication is its nameplate. The nameplate usually contains the name of the newsletter, possibly graphics or a logo, and perhaps a subtitle, motto, and publication information including Volume and Issue or Date.

2. Body. The body of the newsletter is the bulk of the text excluding the headlines and decorative text elements. It's the articles that make up the newsletter content.

3. Table of Contents. Usually appearing on the front page, the table of contents briefly lists articles and special sections of the newsletter and the page number for those items.

4. Masthead. The masthead is that section of a newsletter design, typically found on the second page (but could be on any page) that lists the name of the publisher and other pertinent data. May include staff names, contributors, subscription information, addresses, logo, etc.

5. Heads, Titles

Headline - After the nameplate, the headline identifying each article in a newsletter is the most prominent text element.

Kicker - Often seen in newsletter design, the kicker is a short phrase set above the headline. The kicker can serve as an introduction or section heading to identify a regular column.

Deck - The newsletter deck is one or more lines of text found between the headline and the body of the article. The deck elaborates or expands on the headline and topic of the accompanying text.

Subhead - Subheads appear within the body of articles to divide the article into smaller sections.

Running Head - More familiarly known as a header, a running headline is repeating text - often the title of the publication - that appears, usually at the top, of each page or every other page in a newsletter design. The page number is sometimes incorporated with the running headline.

6. Page Numbers. Page numbers can appear at the top, bottom, or sides of pages. Usually page one is not numbered in a newsletter.

7. Bylines. The byline is a short phrase or paragraph that indicates the name of the author of an article in a newsletter. The byline commonly appears between the headline and start of the article, prefaced by the word "By" although it could also appear at the end of the article.

8. Continuation Lines. When articles span two or more pages, a newsletter uses continuation lines to help readers find the rest of the article.

Jumplines - Jumplines, also called continuation lines, typically appear at the end of a column, as in continued on page 45. Jumplines at the top of a column indicate where the article is continued from, as in continued from page 16

Continuation Heads - When articles jump from one page to another, continuation heads identify the continued portion of the articles. The continuation headlines, along with jumplines, provide continuity and cue the reader as to where to pick up reading.

9. End Signs. A dingbat or printer's ornament used to mark the end of a story in a newsletter is an end sign. It signals the reader that they have reached the end of the article.

10. Pull-Quotes. Used to attract attention, especially in long articles, a pull-quote is a small selection of text "pulled out and quoted" in a larger typeface.

11. Photos / Illustrations. A newsletter design layout may contain photographs, drawings, charts, graphs, or clip art.

Mug Shots - The most typical people photograph found in newsletter design is the mug shot — a more or less straight into the camera head and shoulders picture.
Caption - The caption is a phrase, sentence, or paragraph describing the contents of an illustration such as a photograph or chart. The caption is usually placed directly above, below, or to the side of the picture it describes.

12. Mailing Panel. Newsletters created as self-mailers (no envelope) need a mailing panel. This is the portion of the newsletter design that contains the return address, mailing address of the recipient, and postage. The mailing panel typically appears on one-half or one-third of the back page so that it faces out when folded. BACK